St. Humain unveils debut EP "Emotional Sauna"
Born and raised in Singapore, singer/songwriter/producer St. Humain is kicking off the new year with the release of his debut EP “Emotional Sauna” .
Entirely produced by St. Humain, the 7 track EP reflects on love and life.
“If you want to split it that way, I'd say that “Fever Vibe”, “The Thought of You” are love songs. “Make a Move”, “If I'm Honest”, “Free Fall” are life songs. And “Gravity” is just... John Mayer's. Haha. The love songs talk about various states of a relationship that I think all of us can relate to, and the life songs are just about things that make us human,” explains the artist.
Currently working on his album, the Sydney-based artist has received great acclaim from major outlets such as Billboard, Paste, Live Nation's Ones To Watch and Earmilk.
“Emotional Sauna” is available worldwide.
Photo credit: Nathan Hopkins
Hiii ! You've just released your debut EP "Emotional Sauna", how does it feel to release your first project?
Thank you!! It feels amazing to finally have it out in the world. It's been a long time coming. It's my first mini-body of work and sort of “page one” of my sound and I'm breathing a sigh of relief that it's finally set free!
When did you start working on "Emotional Sauna"? Who did you work with?
I actually didn't set out to create an EP from the start, but simply focused on finishing and putting out songs one by one so I'm not sure if there was a specific start date. But if you want to count back to “Make a Move”, which is the first song I ever put out, you can date it back to the start of 2017. I produced it by myself and worked with a good friend of mine and insane guitarist Norm Lugtu, as well as Simon Cohen (who also worked on Justin Bieber's “Love Yourself”) in the studio to mix it.
Could you describe us the songwriting/production process for this project?
For this EP it started with a song, every time. Currently my philosophy is wanting my songs to stand by themselves without fancy production sounds, meaning that I wanted them to hold up when it was just a piano and vocal or a guitar and vocal. With that in mind, I only started producing when I felt there was enough of the song itself, and from there it was a matter of polishing things until I was happy.
What are the different topics you are talking about on this EP?
I go from love songs to life songs. If you want to split it that way, I'd say that “Fever Vibe”, “The Thought of You” are love songs. “Make a Move”, “If I'm Honest”, “Free Fall” are life songs. And “Gravity” is just... John Mayer's. Haha. The love songs talk about various states of a relationship that I think all of us can relate to, and the life songs are just about things that make us human. You know, the raw stuff.
You covered "Gravity" by John Mayer. What made you want to cover this particular song?
This came about in a very interesting way actually. A friend of mine asked if I could do a wild cover of a song for something and I somehow picked “Gravity”. I guess that felt pretty wild to me, turning something from 6/8 to 4/4 and completely switching up the sonics. It's almost sacrilegious and I hope should John hear it one day he doesn't kill me for it ha.
Could you tell us more about the song "If I'm Honest"? What's the story behind it?
I remember that feeling vividly, and I actually had the title for a while but it was like a communal drink bottle because it was passed around various songs before I arrived at the final version. What I mean by this is that I tried to write to the title and concept about how shitty I actually am as a person, and it took I think two songs before I could articulate what I wanted to. It's about being honest with yourself and going, you know what? I'm not as good as you think I am so please forgive me for my flaws.
Why did you name your EP "Emotional Sauna"?
It's the second line in the opening song “Fever Vibe”, and at that time of writing it was in the vein of being in this heat of love like bring locked up in a sauna. But soon I realised that it was kinda the backbone of the entire EP because it's more than love but could include the different kinds of emotions as well: Disappointment, epiphany, the lows, the highs, and yes of course love. And so on. A sauna is basically a human greenhouse and this EP is a collection of human emotions that I've gone through, each in a song.
What was the hardest part about making this EP? And what was the best part?
I'll start with the best part – it's listening it from track 1 to 7 and feeling this sense of completion that I actually have created not just a collection of songs but a journey from start to finish. Now I hope that translates to everyone, because that was also the hardest part. Deciding on the track order took such a long time because I didn't think it felt right for the longest time... But we finally arrived.
What did you learn about yourself after finishing this EP?
I wrote about this on my Instagram and I think it still rings true... I actually made my EP in a bedroom studio. It's a studio, but it's also where I sleep. Nothing fancy... I've since moved out. Anyway, I had a goal to put music out, and still do. But I had to actually make a plan & run as best as I could. I guess I learnt that I could actually do it. But I always need to get better, and do it better.
What are your goals for 2019?
More music. I'm finishing an album's worth of material right now so I'll be in the studio a lot. I'm also starting to do some more shows this year, so taking these songs on the road will be fun. As will taking some cool merch on the road! I really enjoy fashion so coming up with that will be heaps of fun.
What message do you want to deliver to the readers of this blog?
Face your feelings because you'll be all the better for it. Sometimes you hear people say that challenges make you stronger... And that's true but who wants hardship? Anyway. If you're reading this interview sometime somewhere, I'd encourage you to daringly face whatever you're facing. Not that you won't be afraid doing it, but if you don't, how will you ever get through it?
Stream “Emotional Sauna” here.
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